800 Year Old Book - The Dresden Codex - Year 1200

Only four Mayan manuscripts still exist worldwide, of which the oldest and best preserved is the Dresden Codex, held in the collections of the Saxon State and University Library. The manuscript was purchased for the Dresden court library in 1739 in Vienna, as a "Mexican book." In 1853 it was identified as a Mayan manuscript. Consisting of 39 leaves, inscribed on both sides, and approximately 358 centimeters long, the manuscript originally was folded in an accordion-like manner. The chalk-coated writing material, amatl, is a paper-like matter produced from fig-tree fiber by means of soaking and beating. The codex depicts hieroglyphs and numerals and figures, and contains ritual and divination calendars, calculations of the phases of Venus, eclipses of the sun and moon, instructions relating to new-year ceremonies, and descriptions of the locations of the Rain God, which culminate in a full-page miniature showing a great deluge. The preeminent researcher working with Mayan codices in the 19th century was Ernst Förstermann (1822--1906), royal librarian of the Electorate of Saxony and director of the Saxon State and University Library. Förstermann elucidated the numerical, calendrical, and astronomic systems in the codex and determined that the deities, numbers, and day names in it related to the 260-day Mayan calendar. Förstermann also used the codex to make important contributions to scholarly understanding of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which counted days from the Mayan creation date.

Interested in checking this out for yourself? Curiosity is good for your health!
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667917/

Created / Published
[place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] - 1200

Simply documenting a fascination with antiquated books, texts, photographs, maps and illustrations.
Showcasing a world that appears to be more mysterious and magical than I had ever imagined.

Some books/texts shown in these videos may be edited to feature the visual aspects.
The photos may be in a different order than in the original text.

I will do my best to arrange them accordingly.
Should future videos require the chronology.

* Some titles are in different languages and are translated. They may not be an exact match. Publishing and summary information are directly from digital libraries and sources.

Music
The Golden Present - Jesse Gallagher